Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon will just not stop producing cutting edge, top of the line cameras. I don’t want them to either. I have been shooting Canon gear for about a decade now and have never been disappointed. Each time they put out a new body it is packed with new features that before long a photographer just can’t live without. I’m sure the Mark III will be no exception. Canon is boasting a new image sensor capable of 10.1 Megapixels and up to 10 frames per secon in RAW mode.

The big story with the Canon EOS-1D Mark III is that it’s a better, more universally appealing professional camera for more types of professional photographers. An amazing ISO range (from 50 to 6400) makes this a very versatile camera but that is of course just the beginning. Canons Big story is the high rate of capture at full resolution. It will shoot up to 10 frames per second in with bursts of 30 RAW mode and 110 in large jpeg mode. That is truly incredible!

Canon has taken a lot of time developing this body redesigning it from the ground up. Other noteworthy improvements are a 3 inch LCD with live view mode, an intergrated cleaning system, and a new auto focus system with 19 cross-type sensors and 63 metering zones. I haven’t even mentioned that the sensor has been upgraded as well. Canon’s dual “DIGIC III” processors deliver unprecedented levels of speed, responsiveness and image quality. This 3rd generation 10.1 Megapixel chip represents the state of the art in digital photography. I have been shooting a Canon EOS-1D Mark II for a number of years now and have never been dissapointed. It looks as if it might be time to upgrade. The best part is that the new body is less than $4000 which is a steal in terms of professional cameras. Here are the majority of it’s features…

• World’s fastest AF DSLR with approximately 10 fps continuous shooting in One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF
• Dual DIGIC III Image Processors for fine detail, natural color reproduction and high-speed performance
• ISO 100-3200 with ISO speed extension, L= 50, H = 6400
• 14-bit A/D conversion for fine gradation
• Live View in camera and remote, wired and wireless
• New 45-point Area AF sensor with 19 high-precision, cross-type points (f/2.8 compatible), 26 standard-precision Assist AF points
• AF micro-adjustment (fine adjustment of AF point of focus)
• Adjustable operation characteristics for AF point selection, shutter release priority and focus-tracking sensitivity with AI Servo AF
• New methods of AF point expansion during manual AF point selection
• New 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, APS-H size
• Improved microlens array and pixel fill factor plus optimized photodiode structure to increase light-reception efficiency
• Professional EOS Integrated Cleaning System with Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit, Dust Delete Data acquisition
• RAW, sRAW (new SmallRAW), RAW+JPEG, sRAW+JPEG, JPEG+JPEG simultaneous recording
• Increased shutter durability of approximately 300,000 cycles
• Large and bright 3.0-inch LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels and wide viewing angle
• Five custom WB settings
• Selectable noise reduction for high ISO images, 50% less shadow noise for all images
• High-speed shutter with 1/8000 sec. maximum speed and high-speed X-sync at 1/300 sec. with EX Speedlites
• Startup time approx. 0.2 sec.
• Shutter release time lag approx. 55 ms. (approximately 40 ms. at maximum aperture with C. Fn IV-13-1) and viewfinder blackout time 80 ms. at 1/250 or higher
• Compatible with SDHC (SD High-Capacity) memory cards as well as high capacity CF cards
• Compatible with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed image transfer
• High-magnification, wide-coverage viewfinder and improved focusing screen with 100% finder coverage
• 63-zone metering sensor for more stable exposure control with ambient light and flash
• High-capacity, lightweight and compact lithium-ion battery with estimated battery life display
• Enhanced recording options include automatic switching of recording media, separate recordings to media and identical recordings to multiple media
• Silent mode for single images
• Image copying and backup to external media enabled
• ISO speed safety shift
• ISO speed and metering pattern always displayed in viewfinder and on top LCD data panel
• New control layout with SET button, AF On button and Multi-Controller
• Personal Functions consolidated with Custom Functions, resulting in 57 Custom Functions in 4 groups
• Custom Function settings can be registered and called up
• Camera settings can be saved and read
• Camera’s basic settings can be registered and applied
• New “My Menu” function can be registered and displayed at startup
• Camera direct printing (PictBridge) improved and DPOF print ordering provided
• Direct printing of RAW and sRAW images
• Direct image transfer
• Wireless/wired LAN for image transfers via new WFT-E2A dedicated Wireless File Transmitter
• Compatible with original image verification system
• Speedlite Custom Functions settable with the camera when the 580EXII Speedlite is attached

Seems a bit much huh? Believe it or not If youare shooting fora living these are the reasons you will buy this thing… It might have been a bit overkill to list EVERYTHING but I think it is important to know your gear before you buy it. These are the things you need to know. In terms of image quality and speed this Canon is unmatched. I’m going to have to start saving my money.